Chapter 052 – I am Peggy!
...
Looking at Eli's eager gaze, Matthew tried to make his tone as gentle as possible:
"Peggy is indeed a virtuous and kind-hearted woman, but sometimes, it may be better to maintain a sense of mystery in our interactions."
Eli understood the implied meaning in Matthew's words.
He suddenly felt a bit dissatisfied:
"I thought after spending these days together, we would at least be more than strangers, if not friends."
Matthew quickly smiled and said:
"As long as you agree, Eli, we will be forever friends."
Eli's expression eased slightly:
"If we are friends, then why did you stop me from seeing Peggy?"
He suddenly had a realization:
"Could it be that Peggy is your lover?"
"I did indeed act presumptuously, but rest assured, I just wanted to meet her, I have no intention of taking her away! After all, I have experienced that kind of pain before, and I won't let you endure that kind of suffering."
Matthew's smile froze on his face:
"No, no, Peggy is not my lover, and I'm not stopping you from seeing her out of selfishness."
Eli asked in surprise:
"Then why are you so unwilling to let me see Peggy?"
Matthew was about to explain, but a tall figure suddenly rushed over:
"Matthew! Take a look at my chest!"
"Come, touch it, here, and here, are there several missing ribs?!"
The Minotaur skeleton walked over in a domineering manner.
In the process, he forcefully pushed Eli aside.
Eli immediately looked displeased, but before he could speak, the peculiar skeleton scolded him:
"Little kitty, don't give me that unhappy expression, I just heard you secretly talking about me behind my back!"
Eli couldn't help but laugh.
He was about to say that I was talking about Miss Peggy, what does it have to do with you?
But the next second, he heard Matthew's somewhat helpless voice:
"Alright, Peggy, stop causing trouble."
"I already checked you that day, didn't I? You just broke a few ribs, and I've already reattached them. With your constitution, you'll recover in a while."
Peggy obviously didn't believe it.
She covered her chest with one hand, and with the other hand, she reached under her ribs and felt around for a while. After a moment, she shook her head and said:
"Well, even if the ribs are reattached, my butt still hurts. Hurry up and check it for me..."
Before she finished speaking.
Eli, who was dumbfounded, finally reacted.
His tongue was tied as he asked:
"She is Peggy?"
The Minotaur skeleton proudly said:
"I am Peggy!"
Matthew, with a hint of pity in his eyes, said:
"She is Peggy."
...
The Dark Territory, Pool of Bloodlight.
The location of the Holy Hall of the Scourge Sect.
In front of an ordinary white wooden house, there were two burning braziers on each side of the steps. The braziers spontaneously ignited, and occasionally, the faces of people in pain would flash in the flames.
On the steps.
A golden-haired man with a perpetually warm smile was facing an alert Agile Warrior.
He gently opened his arms towards the Agile Warrior, his voice carrying a power that could move people's hearts:
"Welcome back to the Holy Hall, my daughter Leila."
As he spoke, he leaned forward with his arms, indicating for the Agile Warrior to come and embrace him.
Leila raised an eyebrow slightly, and reluctantly walked over to lightly embrace the man, then immediately separated.
Her body movements were filled with resistance, and there was even a hint of fear deep in her pupils.
"My father, this operation has already failed. Maehdis and Banwen have perished at the hands of the enemy, Sinwalk is suspected to be captured. Following my father's oracle, I only brought back Edson's head."
As she spoke, she respectfully handed over the head she tightly held in her arms.
"Only the head?"
The golden-haired man still had a smile on his face, and his tone was as gentle as a spring breeze.
Leila trembled, and hurriedly lowered her head:
"The enemy was very vigilant, the strength of Rolling Stone Town exceeded our expectations, and that Necromancer was very cunning. Edson couldn't counter his spells nor had the chance to banish his Bone Dragon, so we suffered a defeat. They had many people and tight security, I couldn't bring back Edson's entire corpse, so I could only settle for less."
"Apologies, this failure was unavoidable, even if I had taken action, I couldn't change the situation."
The golden-haired man shook his head:
"We have not failed."
Leila looked up in surprise, only to see the other person's face filled with sincere smiles:
"Our Lord said he is very pleased, the initial goal has been achieved."
Leila was puzzled:
"But we did lose."
The golden-haired man smiled and said:
"The outcome of a momentary victory or defeat is fleeting. What's more important is that war is just a means, not the goal."
"We must prepare for the next mission, only then can we repay our Lord's abundant grace."
Leila let out a sigh of relief and quickly complied:
"I understand, I will go to Black Dragon City to persuade them."
"No rush."
The golden-haired man smiled and said:
"Everyone else is dead, only you survived. Although this was my command, you still have to be punished—not for yourself, but for those comrades who died."
Leila suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with fear and reluctance.
Beads of sweat instantly formed on her forehead.
"Father..."
She murmured softly.
"Why, don't you want to?"
The blond man continued to smile, his shadow elongated infinitely under the firelight, casting a terrifying silhouette on the stone wall.
"No, I want to."
Leila clenched her teeth for a while before finally muttering.
"Come, let's go inside."
The blond man gently took her hand.
The two of them entered the white-painted wooden house.
Soon after.
A piercing female voice came from inside the house.
Faintly.
One could still hear the gentle teachings of the blond man:
"You should be happy, Leila, this is your father's love."
"You should rejoice, for this is the grace of our Lord."
"Laugh! Laugh out loud! Otherwise, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to stuff your spine back in time..."
Soon after.
Outside the wooden house.
The sound of hysterical laughter turned into a mocking tone.
A curious underground squirrel passed by.
It curiously leaned against the window of the wooden house to observe.
With a crisp sound.
A terrifying tentacle extended from an unknown place.
When the sticky tentacle disappeared.
Only a shallow bloodstain remained on the window.
But the hysterical laughter inside the house.
Continued.
...
Northeast of the oak forest.
Matthew stood solemnly near a marked stone.
Several guards with shocked expressions followed behind him.
They were still some distance away from the marked stone, but they dared not approach at this moment.
Because they felt a terrifying power of annihilation!
"The Mark of the Undead has spread, and it's spreading abnormally, stronger and longer than before!"
Matthew's eyes were grave.
At the time of the incident, he was with a few teammates in a cave, building a temporary graveyard. Suddenly, he sensed an evil disturbance.
Following his perception to this place, he discovered that the Mark of the Undead had not only spread a long way to the southwest, but the activity of some internal existence had also increased significantly.
The oak tree he had planted here was originally about thirty to forty meters away from the Mark of the Undead.
But now.
That tree was almost touching the scorched earth of the Mark of the Undead!
Under the scouring power of annihilation.
The oak tree was showing signs of decay.
Although it wouldn't die immediately, it would definitely be difficult to survive over time.
"What the hell? How did the Mark of the Undead suddenly erupt!?"
Matthew was full of doubts.
Then he remembered a strange incident he had encountered while cleaning up the bodies these past few days - Matthew found that the 300-plus bodies, whether they were Gnolls, Dogmen, or Goblins, they all looked more like mummies.
Without moisture, and lacking blood.
When he first discovered this anomaly, Matthew thought it was related to the curse set by the Cult of Catastrophe on these underground creatures.
But now it seems that it may not be the case.
"Could it be that the Mark of the Undead absorbed the blood of the war dead? Right, when I used Basic Spirit Sight to check the condition of the spirits, I found that there were fewer spirits after the war. I thought it was because the people in the Underworld were more efficient..."
Matthew's heart pounded.
Could it be that destroying Rolling Stone Town is not the ultimate goal for the Cult of Catastrophe?
Is it the Mark of the Undead?!
Sizzle!
At the edge of the scorched earth, a giant hand seemingly made up of countless scraps of paper and ashes broke through the soil and rushed towards Matthew with a menacing aura.
Matthew remained calm and took three steps back, and Sodie's figure had already replaced him.
In the blink of an eye, the two short knives crossed paths, and the ashen hand turned into ashes.
...
"Tip: You have eliminated an 'Ashen Hand', and your affinity with nature has slightly increased.
You have received a new main quest -
Main Quest 2: Exterminate the Mark of the Undead!
Description: The expansion of the Mark of the Undead is rampant, and it even threatens the oak forest you have worked so hard to cultivate. It's time to remove this malignant tumor from the land!
Primary Objective: Stop the Mark of the Undead and prevent it from further spreading to the southwest.
Primary Reward: Demigod status (including domain) & a large amount of XP."
...
Matthew's eyelids twitched.
"Sure enough, the main quest is finally connected to the Mark of the Undead."
Although he had anticipated it deep down.
The content of the quest and the generous rewards still surprised him.
Demigod status with a domain?
This meant that once Matthew reached around the Fourth Rank, with the blessing of the demigod status and domain, he would have the potential to reach the realm of being invincible beneath the legendary level!
Even the demigod status and domain bestowed at the Third Rank would give him the ability to challenge opponents two ranks higher.
This indirectly reflected the difficulty of the quest.
At least for now, no one knows how to stop the spread of the Mark of the Undead.
The elves of the Emerald Jade Court couldn't do it.
The Druids of Guardian Heights couldn't do it either.
Matthew could only rely on his own strength to explore, which was an extremely difficult task.
But he had no choice but to do it.If he didn't stop the Mark of the Undead, the oak forest he had painstakingly nurtured could be destroyed in an instant.
At that time, his path of nature would be completely sealed off, with no chance of progress!
"Let's go, we need to report to the lord and set up the marker stones again."
Matthew took a deep look at the scorched earth in front of him.
Then he turned around and led his people away.
……
Night.
Unable to sleep, Matthew stood north of the oak forest, gazing at the Mark of the Undead.
The more he looked at it, the more it seemed like a giant earthworm.
After a while.
Matthew even had the illusion that it was wriggling.
"Matthew."
A familiar voice sounded behind him.
Matthew turned his head to look:
"Ella?"
But the next second, he couldn't help but blurt out:
"No, you're not Ella!"
Under the moonlight.
The owl lady's wing-flapping motion was graceful and sacred.
She carried a hint of majesty and sanctity that she usually didn't possess.
"You're very sharp, hello Matthew, nice to meet you, I'm Asiya Moonlight."
The owl chuckled lightly.
She flew to a rock and stood firm, then looked kindly at Matthew:
"The moonlight is beautiful, isn't it?"
……